GIFT   OF 


SOME 
OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


BY 

GEORGE  A;  MILLER 
M 


*  HB   WENT  UP    INTO  A   MOUNTAIN 

APART  TO  PRAY" 


NEW  YORK 

THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


ffl 


Ms 


Tivo  portals  guard  the  hidden  'ways 
To  the  blessed  life  of  lo*vt-filled  days, 
The  Door  of  Prayer ,  and  Gate  of  Praise. 


Copyright, 
BY  THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  &  Co. 

Published  September,  iqn 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


SAVE  us,  O  Lord,  from  Sunday 
faces  and  the  Churchly  tone! 
May  we  live  every  day  so  well 
that  all  the  days  may  be  alike  good  be- 
fore Theel  Help  us  to  live  so  naturally 
that  it  may  be  as  easy  to  speak  of  Thee 
on  the  street  or  in  the  shop  as  at 
church!  Most  of  all,  may  our  homes 
be  our  sacred  and  always  used  altars 
of  worship  and  praise!  May  our  lives, 
like  the  garment  of  Jesus,  be  without 
seam  or  difference  of  texture  through- 
out that  we  may  have  but  one  face 
and  voice  and  that  our  best! 


us,  O  Lord,  the  wisdom  to 
know  just  when  to  invade  an- 
other's personality  for  Thee.  No  hu- 
man skill  can  avail  for  this  task  most 
delicate  and  most  divine.  May  we 
know  when  we  stand  on  hallowed 
thresholds;  and  when  the  hearts  of 
our  friends  are  open  to  thy  word,  may 
we  never  hesitate  to  enter  with  the 


[1] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


salutation  of  peace.  Let  us  never  mis- 
take thy  guiding  impulse  and  may  we 
have  the  courage  to  follow  into  any 
place  where  Thou  dost  go  before  us! 

SAVE  us,  O  Lord,  from  the  eccle- 
siastical atmosphere!  Give  us 
an  out-of-doors  flavor  in  our  religion 
that  may  put  the  oxygen  of  spiritual 
normality  into  our  souls'  blood  and 
charge  us  with  the  vigor  and  vitality 
of  the  clean  and  good  universe  about 
us. 

SAVE  us,  O  Lord,  from  mind- 
wandering  in  prayer!  With  a 
thousand  voices  the  world  clamors  in 
our  ears!  The  din  of  the  street  and 
the  clatter  of  affairs  comes  through  the 
closed  door,  and  just  when  we  try  to 
shut  out  all  but  Thee,  our  thoughts 
slip  back  into  the  worn  channels  again. 
Help  us  to  make  the  prayer  channel 
so  deep  that  it  may  never  run  dry; 


[2] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


so  broad  that  we  may  unconsciously 
slip  into  it  in  the  midst  of  the  day's 
business,  and  so  long  that  we  may 
follow  it  always! 

OD  bless  the  children  and  help 
us  to  be  more  like  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  ourselves!  May  we  not 
be  too  childish  to  become  child-like! 
Give  us  larger  patience  with  the  young- 
sters who  fail  to  act  like  old  people! 
Help  us  to  understand  the  timid 
hunger  after  truth,  the  fearing  strug- 
gle for  self-expression!  And  may  we 
not  forget  that  we  were  children  once 
ourselves  and  that  we  may  not  have 
improved  much  since! 

TLTELP  us,  O  Lord,  to  get  out  of 

•*•  •*  the  struggle,  character!  Help 
us  that  amid  the  cross  currents  and 
contrary  winds  and  adverse  things  we 
may  find  our  real  selves  and  become 
seasoned  vessels!  Teach  us  how  to 


[3] 


SOME    OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


get  out  of  every  hard  experience  a 
new  note  for  life's  song,  another  spire 
for  the  heart's  cathedral,  one  more 
candle  for  the  soul's  altar!  May 
every  strange  visitation  open  a  new 
door  into  a  field  else  unknown,  and  all 
life  be  richer  and  brighter  and  stronger 
because  of  the  unexpected  and  the 
unexplained!  Give  to  us  the  fruits  of 
experience  —  a  more  exalted  purpose, 
a  deeper  foundation  in  reality,  a  wider 
range  of  human  sympathy,  a  higher 
potentiality  of  motive  power!  Make 
our  lives  to  be  more  human  and  more 
divine! 

\\7  E  thank  Thee,  O  God,  that  as 
we  climb  higher  the  path  be- 
comes plainer,  and  the  mountain  of 
truth  lifts  its  summit  ever  more  glori- 
ous before  us.  We  look  back  on  the 
mists  in  the  valley  and  the  tangled  trail 
below  us,  and  the  great  plan  begins  to 
unfold.  May  we  count  it  all  joy  when 


[4] 


SOME    OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


the  way  is  steep,  if  it  lead  to  clearer 
visions  and  better  knowing  of  Thy 
ways  and  Thyself. 

T5  E  very  near  us,  Lord,  in  the  hour 
•^"^  of  new  resolves,  and  make  us  to 
know  that  it  is  not  what  we  intend  to 
do  so  much  as  what  the  life  within 
impels  us  to  do,  that  determines  our 
conduct.  Give  us  then  the  new  nature 
in  Christ  Jesus,  that  in  any  case  to 
which  we  come,  we  may  be  constrained 
to  do  what  he  would  have  us  to  do. 
And  since  we  never  know  what  reaction 
some  new  situation  may  call  forth, 
help  us  to  keep  very  close  to  Thee 
every  day. 

DELIVER  us,  O  Lord,  from  our 
•""^  hobbies!  Preserve  us  from  our 
fads  and  protect  us  from  our  fancies! 
Save  us  from  the  great  idea  that 
springs  upon  us  from  the  path  and 
takes  us  captive  unawares!  When 


SOME     OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


some  great  scheme  encamps  round 
about  us,  and  demands  unconditional 
surrender,  do  thou  open  our  eyes  to 
see  the  mountain  side  filled  with  a 
host  of  other  good  and  great  things, 
sent  to  deliver  us  from  one-sidedness. 
When  we  would  sell  all  and  follow  the 
big  thing,  may  we  remember  that  when 
the  fever  cools  and  the  halo  fades  it 
will  be  a  very  commonplace  little 
project  after  all,  and  perhaps  quite 
worth  some  consideration.  Keep  us 
level-headed ! 

IVE  us,  O  Lord,  a  real  love  for 
the  day's  work,  but  deliver  us 
from  its  bondage  after  the  hours  of 
toil  are  over.  May  we  find  it  a  joy  to 
do  the  little  tedious  things  that  make 
up  the  monotony  of  the  house  or  shop 
because  they  are  part  of  the  King's 
housework.  And  when  the  day  is 
done,  may  it  leave  us,  not  with  tangled 
nerves  and  jarring  thoughts,  but  with 


[6] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


the  consciousness  of  having  done  our 
best  and  pleased  Thee  well! 

LORD  help  us  to  live  the  sincere 
life!  Give  to  us  that  through- 
and-through  honesty  that  accumu- 
lates a  moral  reserve  against  sudden 
strains!  Keep  us  from  trifling  living 
and  careless  thinking  and  frivolous 
talking,  that  when  the  winds  blow 
and  the  tempests  rage,  may  we  find 
ourselves  untroubled  and  unafraid 
because  we  have  found  reality  in  the 
Rock  of  Ages. 

HELP  us,  O  Lord,  to  find  in  the 
tangle  of  daily  experiences,  the 
warp  and  woof  of  a  Divine  plan!  To 
know  that  a  Father's  thought  follows 
every  thread  of  the  knotted  skein,  a 
Father's  heart  beats  with  every  throb 
of  human  perplexity,  and  that  out  of 
it  all  shall  be  woven  the  fair  garment 
of  abiding  character! 


[7] 


SOME    OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


DELIVER  us,  O  Lord,  from  un- 
reality and  sham  and  deception 
and  make-believe  and  play-acting! 
May  we  be  of  the  Pure  in  Heart  and 
Sincere  in  Life  who  shall  find  Truth 
and  see  God!  Help  us  to  find  through 
the  fog  and  froth  the  Rock  of  Eternal 
Reality  and  thereon  to  build  our 
lives!  Make  us  ever  to  live  in  the 
things  that  perish  not  with  the  using 
and  enfold  us  with  the  panoply  of 
Truth! 

MAY  we  be  very  tolerant  with  the 
ignorance  of  some  folks  about 
us!  We  have  a  lot  to  learn  ourselves, 
and  surely  Thou  art  very  patient  with 
us!  And  when  we  try  to  teach,  help 
us  to  give  liberally  and  upbraid  not, 
nor  show  condescension  toward  our 
brother  for  whom  Christ  died! 


H 


ELP    us,    O   Lord,    to    a    kindly 
sense  of  humor.    To-day's  rugged 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


edges  may  furnish  a  smile  for  to- 
morrow. Yesterday's  crosses  are  the 
refreshing  memories  of  to-day.  It 
may  be  that  the  bitter  trials  of  now 
may  yonder  help  to  make  the  halls  of 
Heaven  ring  with  the  glad  laugh  of 
the  saints  in  Glory  —  bye  and  bye. 
Make  us  then  to  see  the  sunny  side  of 
clouds  that  rise  up  from  the  sea  and 
form  across  the  sky.  And  teach  us 
the  laugh  that  makes  alive  and  leaves 
no  sting  nor  stain! 


to  us,  O  Lord,  a  spirit  of 
tolerance  when  we  make  some 
new  discovery  in  spiritual  things! 
Only  yesterday  we  knew  no  more  than 
these  people  about  us,  and  by  to- 
morrow we  may  not  be  so  sure  of  it 
ourselves! 

TLJ  ELP  us,  O  Lord,  to  find  Thy  self 

•    within     the     forces     about    us! 

When  we  discover  how  little  the  storm 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


and  the  flood  regard  us,  we  grow 
faint  at  heart!  But  if  we  being  hu- 
man, can  command  the  light  to  shine 
in  the  night,  and  the  winds  to  work 
our  bidding  —  if  we  can  girdle  the 
globe  in  a  moment  and  make  the 
desert  to  become  a  fruitful  field,  how 
much  more  canst  Thou,  O  Mighty 
Father,  make  all  the  strong  Angels 
of  the  earth  and  sea  and  sky  to  do  Thy 
bidding  and  work  out  Thy  will  for  us! 
And  if  these  be  Thine  arms  about  us, 
why  should  we  be  afraid? 

LORD,  be  near  us  when  we  are 
discouraged  by  difficulties!  Give 
us  new  power  to  rise  and  turn  the 
world  back  again!  May  we  have 
peace  enough  within  to  be  unfretted 
by  the  strife  without!  Let  us  have 
an  interior  resistance  so  strong  that 
we  may  be  unannoyed  by  the  pressure 
about  us!  Help  us  to  be  so  busy  with 
Thy  service  and  Thyself  that  tempta- 


[10] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


tions  may  not  much  trouble  us!  And 
give  to  us  the  balanced  life  with  its  re- 
sources always  greater  than  its  needs 
and  its  eternal  anchorage  in  Thee! 

ORD,  teach  us  to  pray!  Keep  us 
•*^'  from  the  sins  of  presumption  in 
prayer!  Forbid  that  we  should  walk 
with  irreverent  steps  before  thy  throne! 
Deliver  us  from  the  ingratitude  of 
constant  beggary  at  the  Mercy  Seat! 
Give  to  us  such  a  sense  of  Thy  near- 
ness that  our  wandering  thoughts  may 
be  fixed  on  eternal  things!  Save  us 
from  our  greedy  clamor  after  the 
loaves  and  fishes!  Teach  us  to  talk 
less  and  listen  more  before  Thee! 
Show  us  wherein,  by  Thy  grace,  we 
may  help  to  answer  our  own  petitions ! 
Give  to  us  much  charity  with  each 
other,  and  some  patience  with  our- 
selves! Grant  to  us  a  high  ideal  of 
duty,  a  loving  enthusiasm  for  service, 
and  a  new  vision  of  Thy  face! 


[11] 


SOME    OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


WE  grope  about  because  we  walk 
in  the  dark,  O  Lord!  Help  us 
then  to  walk  in  the  light!  We  stumble 
and  are  confused  because  we  cannot 
see.  We  strike  our  hands  and  our 
heads  and  our  hearts  against  facts 
and  folks.  We  think  the  world  a  very 
tangled  place.  But  when  the  path- 
way brightens  and  we  look  back,  be- 
hold, it  was  our  footsteps  that  were 
tangled.  Since  we  may  not  rise  high 
enough  to  see  the  road  from  above, 
lead  us  step  by  step  through  the  maze 
and  keep  us  in  the  open  paths  where 
we  may  find  Thy  footprints  before  us 
in  the  way! 

WITHHOLD  from  us,  O  Lord, 
more  power  than  we  can  use 
with  wisdom.  Nothing  so  much  un- 
masks our  inner  selves  as  our  use  of 
a  little  authority.  Keep  us  very 
humble  when  we  sit  in  the  seat  of  the 
ruler,  whether  it  be  in  the  home  or 


[12] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


the  church  or  the  world  about  us,  and 
help  us  always  to  remember  that  we 
are  but  stewards  of  that  which  is  thine 
own! 

HELP  us,  O  Lord,  to  find  the  key- 
note! When  we  hear  discords 
on  every  side,  it  must  be  that  we  are 
ourselves  out  of  tune!  If  by  lifting  our 
lives  a  semi-tone,  we  may  hear  every 
harsh  note  find  its  place  in  the  chorus, 
then  make  us  to  be  in  tune;  though 
it  be  with  stretching  of  heart  strings 
and  breaking  of  some  unworthy  ties! 

IF  from  all  Thy  good  gifts,  O  Lord, 
I  may  ask  but  one,  let  that  one 
be  the  spirit  of  kindness!  Let  others 
have  fame  and  fortune  and  jewels  and 
palaces,  if  I  may  but  have  the  kindly 
spirit!  Give  greatness  and  power  to 
those  that  want  them,  but  give  to  me 
Brotherly  Kindness!  Make  somebody 
else  to  be  comely  of  visage,  if  only  I 


[13] 


SOME    OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


may  wear  a  kindly  countenance!  May 
I  never  wound  the  heart  of  any  falter- 
ing child  of  Thine!  Make  me  to  do 
the  little  unremembered  acts  that 
quietly  help  without  intending  it. 
Grant  me  to  bear  about  the  uncon- 
scious radiance  of  a  life  that  knows 
no  grudge,  but  loves  all  men  because 
they  are  children  of  my  Father,  who 
loved  them  enough  to  send  His  Son 
to  save  them. 

CAVE  us,  O  Lord,  alike  from  self- 
conceit  and  self-abasement.  Help 
us  to  be  so  busy  with  Thyself  and  Thy 
service  that  we  may  lose  ourselves  and 
find  our  lives. 

AY  we  so  live  that  we  shall  always 
be  in  good  company  when  we 
are  alone.  May  our  thoughts  be  ever 
our  best  friends!  May  we  find  a  hal- 
lowed quietness  when  the  world  drops 
beneath  us  as  we  rise  up  to  meet  Thee. 


[14] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


May  we  have  a  love  for  the  silence  of 
solitude  —  when  we  can  find  it;  and 
help  us  always  to  find  the  best  of  all 
company  —  Thyself! 


we  feel  rushed  and  nervous 
and  very  indispensable  to  Thee, 
O  Lord,  help  us  to  remember  that  the 
world  got  along  without  us  for  many 
years  and  that  our  places  will  not  be 
long  empty  when  we  are  gone! 


us  something  to  do,  O  Lord, 
and  grant  us  the  power  to  get 
something  done,  though  it  be  but  a 
little  thing.  May  we  enter  into  the 
fellowship  of  those  who  achieve  !  Make 
us  to  know  the  sense  of  power  that 
comes  with  the  creative  impulse!  Let 
us  be  among  the  number  of  those  who 
are  entrusted  with  tasks  worth  doing! 

J.REATLY  increase,  O  Lord,  our 
sense  of  how  our  brother  feels! 


[15] 


SOME    OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


May  we  always  be  able  to  put  ourselves 
in  his  place,  and  do  unto  him  as  we 
would  like  to  have  him  do  to  us.  And 
when  we  do  thus,  keep  us  from  any 
thought  of  reward  for  practicing  the 
most  selfish  of  virtues. 

O  OMETIMES,OLord,  we  find  across 
^  our  path  a  flood  of  cares,  and  there 
is  no  way  to  the  other  side.  After  we 
have  fretted  and  waited  and  doubted, 
we  turn  to  Thee  and  find  Thee  stand- 
ing beside  us  ready  to  roll  back  the 
waters  and  lead  us  through  dry-shod. 
Help  us  to  know  better  next  time! 

GIVE  us  wisdom,  O  Lord,  to  trans- 
late our  ideals  into  the  language 
of  our  daily  lives!  Help  us  to  close  the 
gap  between  the  things  we  dream  and 
the  things  we  do!  Show  us  how  to 
make  our  deeds  match  our  words,  and 
bring  us  to  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  the  fullness  of  Christ  our  Lord! 


[16] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


MAKE  us  to  be  constantly  aware 
of  thyself,  O  Lord !  May  we  not 
mistake  caution  nor  solemnity  nor 
ecstasy  nor  reticence  nor  much  talk- 
ing for  spirituality!  When  we  do  feel 
Thee  near,  may  the  glad  answer  of 
our  hearts  welcome  Thee  to  that 
which  is  thine  own!  Help  us  to  live 
so  that  we  may  feel  very  much  at 
home  with  Thee  all  the  time,  and 
walk  together  as  friends  in  the  way! 

HELP  us,  O  Lord,  to  see  the  good 
in  folks  about  us  as  Thou  seest 
it!  Give  us  a  love  for  people  so  strong 
that  to  help  them  may  be  a  constant 
joy!  Teach  us  how  to  be  very  chari- 
table with  those  who  differ  with  us, 
and  very  patient  with  those  who  fall 
by  the  way! 

GIVE  us,  O  Lord,  a  keen  sense  of 
proportion.       Deliver    us    from 
the  despotism  of  the  one  idea,  and  help 


[17] 


SOME    OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


us  to  remember  that  some  other  people 
have  very  different  ways  that  work 
just  as  well  as  ours,  that  things  may 
not  go  our  way,  and  yet  go  very  well. 
Help  us  to  live  the  balanced  life  that 
builds  four-square  with  open  windows 
toward  all  the  winds  and  stars  of  heaven. 

thank  Thee,  O  Lord,  for  the 
things  that  are  out  of  doors;  for 
the  fresh  air  and  the  open  sky  and  the 
growing  grass  and  the  tiny  flowers  and 
the  setting  sun  and  the  wooded  hill 
and  the  rolling  surf  and  the  brown 
earth  beneath  our  feet.  They  are  all 
good  and  they  all  speak  the  truth,  and 
we  rest  ourselves  and  get  new  strength 
to  go  back  to  the  world  of  restless  men 
and  women.  Keep  us  ever  like  thy 
good  world,  rugged  and  wholesome 
and  true. 


HAT  beggars  we  are,  O  Lord! 
We  rise  up  in  the  morning  and 


[18] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


ask  for  daily  bread!  We  go  about  our 
work  and  ask  for  all  kinds  of  help  to 
win  in  the  struggle!  We  ask  for  many 
things  for  ourselves  and  our  friends, 
and  we  go  to  Thy  sanctuary  on  Sun- 
day to  implore  Thee  for  grace  to  live 
through  another  week!  Because  Thou 
hast  bidden  us  ask  largely,  we  have 
become  too  greedy  to  remember  to  be 
grateful,  we  have  been  so  busy  beg- 
ging that  we  have  missed  the  gifts  and 
the  Giver.  May  we  stop  and  count 
the  blessings  we  have  before  we  ask 
for  more! 

HELP  us,  O  Lord,  to  find  our  only 
success  in  selling  our  lives  as 
dearly  in  service  as  our  days  may 
bring  opportunity,  and  to  regard  as 
the  only  failure,  a  coming  short  of 
what  God  may  expect  of  us! 


H 


ELP  us,  O  Lord,  to  live  out  on 
the  open  sea  of  God's  all-reaching 


[19] 


SOME    OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


love,  and  to  move  with  the  currents 
of  divine  power;  to  fill  life's  sails  with 
the  fresh  winds  of  spiritual  truth  and 
freedom;  to  sail  up  and  down  time's 
glorious  coast  carrying  a  Heaven- 
scented  cargo  of  better  life  to  men;  to 
be  conscious  less  of  effort  and  more  of 
power;  to  see  the  needy  men  on  the 
shore  and  bring  to  them  the  bread  of 
life;  trusting  always  that  when  the 
sails  grow  gray  and  the  spars  and 
planks  begin  to  groan  in  the  gale, 
Heaven's  safe  harbor  may  welcome  in 
peace  the  captain  of  the  Abundant 
Life! 

tTELP  us,  O  Lord,  to  know  how 
•*•  •*  much  Thou  dost  value  us!  We 
are  lost  in  the  vastness  of  Thy  crea- 
tion, and  feel  very  small  in  the  uni- 
verse! May  we  remember  that  in 
Thy  sight  we  are  of  more  value  than 
many  mountains,  and  that  Thou  lovest 
us  more  than  all  the  diamonds  and 


[20] 


SOME    OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


seas  and  stars!  Are  we  not  better 
than  they!  In  the  midst  of  the  whirl- 
ing suns  Thou  dost  stop  to  care  for 
us  and  number  the  hairs  of  our  heads! 
When  Thou  desirest  our  service  here 
we  pass  safely  through  the  waters  and 
the  noisome  pestilence  is  powerless 
before  us!  When  Thou  needest  us 
yonder,  the  flood  and  fire  become  our 
chariots  that  bear  us  hence  to  stand 
before  Thy  throne  and  wait  Thy 
bidding  there!  Make  us  to  know  how 
strong  and  ready  Thou  art  to  care  for 
us  in  any  world  to  which  we  come! 

BE  very  near  us,  O  Lord,  when  we 
grope  our  way  through  the  wil- 
derness, wondering,  hoping,  fearing, 
till  some  day  we  come  trembling  to  the 
mount  of  God  —  and  it  is  hidden  in 
clouds!  About  its  top  gather  pain  or 
sorrow  or  doubt  or  disaster  till  its 
crags  are  lost  from  sight,  and  we  are 
slow  to  believe  that  this  is  the  Sinai 


[21] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


we  have  sought!  Surely  mystery  is 
thy  habitation  and  clouds  are  round 
about  thy  dwelling  place!  We  gaze 
in  fear  on  the  darkness  and  listen  in 
terror  to  the  trumpet  and  we  say, 
"Let  Moses  go  up!"  And  if  our  hands 
be  not  clean,  and  our  hearts  in  tune, 
we  hear  Thee  say,  "Bid  them  stand 
back!"  Assure  us  once  again,  O  Lord, 
that  truth  is  safe  and  that  Thou  dost 
protect  Thine  own!  May  we  enter 
with  reverence  the  clouds  about  Thy 
throne  and  find  no  harm  to  hurt  us! 
Call  us  up  into  the  mountain  that 
amid  the  fresh  breaths  of  truth  and 
the  close  tones  of  the  trumpet,  we  may 
meet  Thee  face  to  face,  our  Eternal 
Refuge  and  Strength! 

GIVE  us  a  spirit  of  fellowship  with 
all  living  things,  O  Lord!     The 
singing  bird  and  the  buzzing  bee  and 
all  the  humming  swarm  of  a  summer 
evening  are  busy  and  useful  and  after 


[22] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


their  kind  happy  at  their  work.  Thou 
hast  filled  the  forests  with  things  that 
breathe  and  move  and  call  across  the 
tree-tops.  The  grass  hides  a  host  of 
hurrying  creatures,  each  intent  upon 
filling  its  own  little  life  with  toil  and 
depending  utterly  upon  the  sun  and 
the  wind  and  the  seasons'  change.  If 
Thou  hast  endowed  the  smallest  ant 
with  industry  and  instinct  more  mar- 
velous than  man's,  if  the  fireflies' 
lamp  and  the  crickets'  chirp  and 
the  sparrows'  fall  are  of  interest  to 
Thee,  help  us  to  learn  from  these 
Thy  creatures  their  lesson  of  trust 
and  service. 

E  would  learn,  O  Lord,  from  the 
great  sea  in  the  deep  places  of 
the  earth!  Help  us  to  draw  from  its 
unfathomed  depths  a  reserve  that 
shall  deliver  us  from  small  tempests 
on  life's  surface!  If  we  cannot  under- 
stand the  vastness  of  the  watery  des- 


[23] 


SOME    OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


erts,  nor  its  tireless  beating  on  the 
shore,  why  should  we  marvel  at  the 
problem  of  the  infinite  energy  or  the 
throbbing  of  Thine  unwearied  heart 
of  love  for  us!  Change  and  decay 
dwell  upon  the  shore,  but  the  world  of 
waters  goes  on  changeless!  The  dry 
land  sets  up  barriers  and  limits  on 
every  hand!  The  sea  has  no  first 
nor  last  nor  new  nor  old,  but  rolls  on 
one  eternal  now,  always  changing, 
yet  unchanged.  Its  crested  combers 
rise  for  one  wild  moment  and  sink 
back  into  the  deep.  Here  are  change- 
less peace,  and  truth,  yesterday,  to- 
day and  forever  the  same,  and  room 
that  knows  no  bounds.  Our  lives 
spring  up  to-day  into  the  free  air,  and 
then  sink  back  again  into  Thine  arms 
for  rest  and  new  strength  to  rise  again 
to-morrow,  till  they  break  at  last  on 
the  golden  sands  of  eternity's  fair  shore, 
and  when  all  the  ships  of  time  are 
gathered  in,  there  shall  be  no  more  sea! 


[24] 


SOME    OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


GIVE  to  us,  O  Lord,  a  religion  that 
will  stand  the  out-of-doors.  May 
it  be  as  fadeless  as  the  sky,  unchanged 
through  eternal  exposure!  May  it  be 
as  natural  as  the  feel  of  the  moist 
earth  beneath  our  feet,  as  refreshing 
as  the  closing  of  tired  eyes  in  sleep, 
and  as  restful  as  the  waking  to  new 
tasks!  Let  our  worship  be  as  constant 
as  the  air  about  us  that  leaves  no 
vacant  space,  and  as  strong  as  the 
flood  that  finds  its  way  to  the  sea  — 
its  own!  Make  our  devotion  as  simple 
and  as  fragrant  as  the  wild  rose  bloom- 
ing alone  in  the  wood,  just  because  it 
is  a  wild  rose  and  God  made  it  so! 

117  E  thank  Thee,  O  Lord,  for  Thy 
first  great  temples!  With  lofty 
cedar  and  branching  oak  Thou  hast 
reared  the  living  frame  and  stretched 
the  vaulted  arches!  With  tapestries 
of  wondrous  hue  are  hung  the  pat- 
terned walls!  Through  the  leafy 


[25] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


windows  stream  the  golden  rays  of 
holy  sunlight!  With  weave  of  flower- 
ing green  Thou  hast  covered  floor  of 
aisle  and  nave!  Mid  shadows  of 
mighty  pillars  we  wait  the  breath  of 
angel  wings  and  anthem  song  from 
feather- throated  choir!  With  all  the 
birds  and  flowers  and  morning  stars, 
we  praise  Thee,  O  God!  Before  the 
unhewn  altar  rock,  we  offer  our  obla- 
tion of  hearts  contrite  and  humble, 
and  in  Thy  hush  of  holy  benediction, 
we  lift  again  our  eyes,  and  in  these 
Thy  first-built  shrines,  we  find  Thee 
close  beside  us! 

VI7E  thank  Thee,  O  Lord,  for  the 
solitary  places!  We  rejoice  in 
the  sense  of  power  that  comes  mid  the 
great  sandy  silences  where  the  brown 
earth  stretches  away  till  it  meets  the 
sky!  Now  we  know  why  John  dwelt 
in  the  wilderness  and  Jesus  went  apart 
into  the  desert  to  pray.  The  world  of 


[26] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


men  is  crowded.  Here  at  last  in  the 
untrodden  turfts  of  desolation,  there 
is  room  and  enough  of  it!  The  brown 
hills  of  the  mesa  offer  us  a  shelter  and 
the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  is  a  refuge. 
We  do  not  wonder  that  out  of  such 
silence  and  strength  have  come  proph- 
ets and  conquerors!  May  we  drink 
from  this  largeness  and  go  back  to  our 
tasks  with  power  and  peace! 

WE  thank  Thee,  O  Lord,  for  the 
fragrance  of  the  open  air!  As 
the  heavens  are  high  above  the  earth, 
so  is  the  salt  spray  and  the  odor  of 
the  pine  tree  better  than  the  eccle- 
siastical smell  of  musty  carpets  and 
stale  atmosphere.  When  men  would 
be  holy  they  close  the  open  windows 
and  burn  incense!  Thy  call  to  wor- 
ship is  with  the  lark-song  in  the  open 
and  the  voice  of  many  waters  on  the 
strand!  We  come  with  ancient  forms 
and  prepared  faces!  Thou  speakest 


[27] 


SOME     OUTDOOR     PRAYERS 


with  the  ever-new  language  of  the 
mountain  and  the  shore,  and  when 
our  hearts  are  found  in  tune,  we  forget 
the  forms  and  ritual  and  all  the  pomp 
of  men,  and  stand  alone  and  glad  before 
Thee  our  Maker,  and  our  Friend ! 

WE  thank  Thee,  O  Lord,  for 
the  stormy  days!  When  the 
rain  falls  and  the  wind  blows,  and 
the  clouds  move  in  regiments  across 
the  sky,  they  somehow  seem  to  say  the 
thing  that  cries  in  us  for  utterance 
and  cannot  be  expressed!  The  glit- 
tering lights  of  a  rainy  night  shine  so 
weird  and  wonderful  that  we  leave  the 
dusty  day  and  narrow  earth  and  find 
a  world  of  flash  and  gleam  and  shadow! 
The  fresh  and  cool  air  of  the  storm 
soothes  to  rest  our  troubled  spirits! 
The  shock  of  thunder  breaks  the 
tension  of  tired  spirits  and  jars  us 
free  again!  The  patter  of  the  rain- 
drops on  the  roof  lulls  us  to  a  sleep 


[28] 


SOME    OUTDOOR 


both  strong  and  sweet!  The  home 
seems  more  filled  with  comfort  and 
content  because  the  storm  beats  with- 
out! And  when  the  clouds  break 
and  the  king  of  the  heavens  comes 
forth  in  splendor  to  drive  his  frowning 
foes  from  the  sky,  he  paints  a  gor- 
geous glory  in  the  west  and  bids  us  take 
one  rapturous  glimpse  through  Heav- 
en's gate  while  we  catch  our  breath 
and  think  of  glories  unrevealed! 

T  T  7E  lift  our  eyes  unto  the  hills  from 
VV  whence  cometh  our  help!  From 
the  silence  of  the  valleys  and  the 
majesty  of  the  mountains  we  draw 
solace  and  strength!  The  strong  bat- 
tlements lift  their  heads  in  power  for 
the  faint.  The  upper  summits  shine 
with  snowy  peaks  in  glorious  white 
and  dwell  in  silence  there  alone!  If 
the  glory  of  the  Eternal  dwells  any- 
where upon  the  earth,  it  must  be  in 
these  regions  that  rise  ever  higher  till 


[29] 


SOME    OUTDOOR    PRAYERS 


they  are  lost  in  cloudless  blue  above 
the  mists  below!  Could  not  these 
mighty  fastnesses  be  some  eternal 
playground  for  spirits  of  just  men  who 
love  them  because  they  are  like  Thy- 
self, high  and  strong  and  true?  If 
the  eternal  hills  be  more  glorious  than 
these,  we  wait  with  bated  breath  the 
moment  when  our  feet  shall  stand 
amid  their  radiant  summits  and  we 
shall  see  Thee  face  to  face! 

GRANT,  O  Lord,  that  when  our 
lives  are  summed  up  at  last,  they 
may  not  be  as  a  basket  of  broken 
fragments,  a  few  thoughts,  a  bit  of 
culture,  a  little  devotion,  something 
of  service,  some  love  for  our  fellows 
and  some  more  for  ourselves,  but  help 
us  to  live  so  sincerely  and  soundly 
that  we  may  stand  at  last  before  Thy 
throne,  complete  in  Thyself  and  strong 
in  something  worth-while  that  we 
have  done  for  Thee. 


[30] 


STAMPED  BELOW 
AN  INITIAL  PINE  OP  25  CENTS 


™S,™  -RE  TO    RETURN 

THIS    BOOK   ON    THE   DATE   DUE.    THE    PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  5O  CENTS  ON  THE  FOUR™ 

YAD  ™ 


OCT  231939 


University  of  California  Library 

or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4 
days  prior  to  due  date. 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

'JAN  1 1  2002 


